In Edgar-finalist Penny’s perceptive, perfectly paced 10th mystery featuring Chief Insp. Armand Gamache of the Quebec Sûreté (after 2013’s How the Light Gets In), Three Pines resident Peter Morrow has pledged to show up for a dinner with his wife, Clara, exactly one year after their separation. When Peter fails to materialize on the appointed day, Clara fears that he has either found a new woman—or died. Clara turns to Gamache for help in locating Peter, who appears to have adopted a new approach to painting during his time away from her. Over the course of the intriguing search, Penny offers real insight into the evolution of artistic style as well as the envy that artists feel about each other’s success. At times, the prose is remarkably fresh, filled with illuminating and delightful turns of phrase (e.g., Clara notices “her own ego, showing some ankle”), though readers should also be prepared for the breathless sentence fragments that litter virtually every chapter. Agent: Teresa Chris, Teresa Chris Literary Agency. (Aug.)